Osechkin* voiced his version of the assassination attempt being prepared by natives of Dagestan

The Dagestani nationals detained in France had no personal motive for the attempted murder. The failed assassination attempt was linked to the public exposure of torture in Russian prison colonies and human rights violations related to the military operation in Ukraine, according to Vladimir Osechkin, founder of the Gulagu.net* project.

"Caucasian Knot" reported that four people, including three natives of Dagestan, were detained in France for plotting an assassination attempt on Osechkin.

"I know all the details of the detainees; all four are natives of Dagestan; one of them just managed to obtain a French passport." "These people were paid to operate—they selected sniper positions from which to fire weapons with telescopic sights," Vladimir Osechkin* told a Caucasian Knot correspondent.

"The Dagestanis or Chechens couldn't have any personal motives for taking revenge on me. Dagestan natives were apparently recruited to make it appear as some kind of local initiative," Osechkin believes.

"Furthermore, the Gulagu.net* project helped imprisoned Dagestanis." "For example, in 2022, Magomed Atimagomedov and Daud Kuramagomedov contacted us, and we published their statement regarding torture in a penal colony in Kalmykia," the source said.

The Dagestanis detained in France defend themselves by claiming they didn't know who Osechkin was, didn't use the internet, and were simply filming tourist videos while traveling from Biarritz to Spain via San Sebastian. "They understand (at least three of them) that they need to remain silent, and then, it's possible, Moscow will exchange them after some time, because Russia has French prisoners," Osechkin stated.

He links the plot to high-profile publications in 2021–2025. "It all started with Sergei Savelyev's torture video archive—filming torture and rape in Russian prison colonies. In December 2022, Gulagu.net* even gained the ability to remotely access the video surveillance system of FSIN prison colonies for two months. In 2022, Prigozhin was dissatisfied with our activities for publishing evidence of how prisoners were recruited from prison colonies for military operations, including against their will. "In 2024, I helped the ZDF television channel produce a film featuring Russian military personnel who reported on [human rights violations during the military operation]. These materials were included in the criminal case of the International Criminal Court, which thanked me for my cooperation," Osechkin noted.

A letter dated May 1, 2024, the text of which Osechkin shared with a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, states that the ICC prosecutorial team met with him several times as part of the "investigation of crimes committed on the territory of Ukraine since November 2013."

"According to my information, this film was viewed by (security forces), and it was decided that 'Osechkin is capable of causing operational damage' because active security forces know how to contact me, how to anonymously transfer materials, including those related to state secrets, and how to obtain assistance for travel abroad," Osechkin stated his theory.

It is worth noting that in October 2022, the French publication Intelligence Online reported that Osechkin had helped an employee of a clinic belonging to one of the security forces, as well as a member of the Wagner PMC, travel to France.

Furthermore, Osechkin does not rule out that the assassination attempt is connected to his covert work to de-anonymize security officials and propose their candidacies for Western sanctions, as well as to a February 2025 Wall Street Journal article about the torture of Ukrainian prisoners.

It is worth noting that Intelligence Online, in an October 6 article, shortly before the arrest of the Dagestani natives, reported on the preparation of an assassination attempt on Osechkin on February 24, 2025. The same article described how French intelligence services were investigating possible information about an assassination attempt on Osechkin as early as 2022.

"The first assassination attempt, according to my information, was being prepared in early 2022. A Georgian crime boss was looking for Chechens who had not received refugee status and were supposed to leave France. "The plan was to stage a street fight in which I would be caught up and killed, supposedly by accident. However, the project ultimately fell through," Osechkin said.

As a reminder, in February, Moscow's Meshchansky Court sentenced Vladimir Osechkin*, founder of the Gulagu.net project, in absentia to eight years in prison for allegedly spreading fake news about the Russian army (paragraph "d" of Part 2 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison), the press service for Moscow's courts of general jurisdiction reported at the time. According to investigators and the court, Osechkin* knowingly disseminated false information about the actions of the Russian army online from March to November 2022.

* is listed as a foreign agent.

** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.